Carton



Jan. 11, 938. M BURGER' l 2,104,969

CARTON Filed Jan. 4, 1955 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARTON Martin Burger, Morris, Ill.,.assignor to Self-Locking Carton Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application January 4, 1935, Serial No. 325

1 Claim.

"5 for the production of cartons of the so-called 3 X 4 style.

Egg cartons are of two general types. As an example of the first type, reference is made to Troyk Patent No. 1,766,155. This carton is of l0 the 2 X 6 type, in which the eggs are placed in two adjacent rows separated by a longitudinal partition. The eggs are supported above a surface upon which the carton is positioned by means of a cushion bottom. The other type of egg carton is of the so-called 3 X 4 type, in which a flat bottom box is provided with a separate cellular ller consisting of strips secured together in foldable relation to provide twelve compartments, three along one dimension of the carton and four along 20 the other.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece 3 X 4 carton which is manufactured easily and provided with a cushion bottom.

An additional object is the provision of a carton having the combined advantages of the two types of cartons known heretofore.

A further object is the provision of a 3 X 4 carton in which is employed a minimum quantity of go material and at the same time a cushion bottom is provided.

These and other objects will be evident upon consideration of the following specification, in which is described a preferred embodiment of "35 my invention and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a 3 X 4 carton constructed in accordance with my invention, the carton being shown in erected or set-up con- 40 dition;

Fig. 2 is a longitudnal section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top view of the carton taken along line 3 3 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 4 is an end View of the carton.

. As is stated hereinbefore, the usual style of 3 X 4 carton which has met with commercial success consists of a iiat bottom carton having a separate ller or insert which may be distended from collapsed condition into rectangular shape in which the ller provides twelve cellular compartments, three along one dimension of the carton and four along the other. 'I'his style of carton olers some competition to the more desira- 55 ble 2 X 6 carton of the type described in the beforementioned Troyk patent. However, it has been necessary to sell the 3 X 4 carton at several dollars a thousand less than the 2 x 6 carton. The inability to obtain a better price for the standard 3 X 4 carton is primarily due to the fact 5 that the carton is not rigid, that is, it can be twisted easily, and also the carton does not provide a cushion bottom for the prevention of breakage of eggs. So great has been the objection to this style of 3 x 4 carton that it has not l0 been used for shipping purposes. On the contrary, the standard 3 X 4 carton ordinarily is used by the retailer for dispensing eggs from the counter.

In the prior art, attempts have been made to 15 provide a cushion style 3 X 4 carton, but these attempts have met with failure and no such cartons are on the market. A principal example of such prior attempts to provide a cushion bottom 3 X 4 carton is to be had in the carton described 120 in Wilson Patent No. 905,615, issued December 1, 1908. In this Wilson patent a blank is folded in the form of a series of V-shaped channels separated from each other by longitudinally extending ridges. The egg-receiving channels are di- 1725 vided up into a plurality of cellular compartments by separated inserts, which extend transversely through the blank and are locked to the outside walls thereof by means of hooks.

In accordance with my invention I have pro- 30 vided a 3 X 4 carton in which is combined the advantages of this type of structure, as well as the advantages of the cushion bottom 2 X 6 cartons known heretofore. As shown in the drawing, the carton is constructed by suitably cutting, scoring and folding a single blank of paper board or the like to form cover-locking hooks III, a cover-locking strip I I, and a cover portion I3 separated from the strip I I by means of a score line I2. 'Io the opposite end of cover I3 is integrally '40 attached a rear wall I5, separated from the cover by means of a score line I4. A rear bottom section I'I is connected to the wall I5 along a score line I6 and extends upwardly and inwardly toward the center of the carton, as shown particu- 45 larly in Fig. 4. This rear bottom section I1 terminates at a division point of about one-third the width of the carton, and then extends downwardly from score line I8 to form the rear side I9 of an intermediate V-shaped channel. 'Ihe 50 section I9 extends downwardly to the level of the bottom of the carton at the center of the carton, and is joined at a certain score line 2U by an upwardly and outwardly slanting front section 2| of the intermediate V-shaped channel. 'Ihis 55 In manufacture, the blank from which the. carton is produced is properly cut and scored.V

Thereafter the blank is folded along the score line of the intermediate channel. A score line 30 is provided longitudinally of the cross partitions and in the central portion thereof and the cross partitions are folded along the'score line. A suitable quantity of glue is applied to the attaching strip 29 and the latter is pressed against the lbottom wall to complete the assembly of the carton.

In accordance with my invention the bottom section is provided with three longitudinally extending V-shaped channels separated from each other rby upwardly extending ridges, and this bottom is locked in secure relation with the cross partitions in such a manner that the bottom is rigid. In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing the cross partitions are provided with outer downwardly extending rprongs 3| adjacent the rear of the carton and similar downwardly extending prongs 32 adjacent the front wall of the carton. Prongs 3| are provided with inwardly facing hook portions 3S which extend through openingsr34 in the rear bottom section and engage this section to maintain the same in suspended condition. Similar hooks 35 are provided on the front prongs 32 and these hooks engage the front bottom section 23 through openings 36. When eggs are placed in the outer channels of the carton the sections and 23 tend to be pressed toward the inner portion of the carton. To maintain the central channel in proper shape-I have provided downwardly extending projections 31 on the central portion of the cross partitions, and these projections 3'| t against the downwardly extending walls I9 and 2| of the intermediate longitudinal channel.

It will be seen that my carton does not employ longitudinal partitions of the type used heretofore. That is, in the 2 x 6 cartons known heretofore the ridge portion which divides the carton into two longitudinal sections of cells extends upwardly above the center of eggs placed Vin the carton, whereby to prevent the eggs from comingV in contact with each other, it being thought that such a longitudinal partition was necessary to prevent the eggs from breaking.

However, it has-been my discovery that when the bottom section is constructed as described herein it is not necessary that the partitions between the longitudinally extending cells extend upwardly above the center of the eggs. In fact, cartons of the type described herein have been packed with eggs and shipped under adverse conditions with the surprising result that no eggs are broken, even though, as will be seen from the drawing, eggs placed in the carton do not have paper material between their widest portions.

It will be seen from Fig. 4 that wall 2| has a greater angle to the horizontal than does wall and likewise I9 has a greater angle to the horizontal than does wall 23. This relation tends to cause the eggs in the outer longitudinal channels to spring away from the center of the carton, thereby protecting the eggs against contact with the eggs in the central longitudinal channel or compartment.

Opposite the lower projections 37 on the cross partitions are provided cover-protecting projections 38 which extend upwardly adjacent the under side lof the cover and press or protect the latter against blows or jars. It will be seen that when pressure is applied to the cover this pressure is transferred through the cross partitions to the downwardly slanting walls I9 and 2|. As the hooks 33 and 35 are spaced apart a considerable distance, it is possible to construct the upper cover-supporting projections 38 with a substantial quantity of material. That is, the cover-supporting projections 38 extend beneath the carton for a distance greater than the width of the central channel.

As stated hereinbefore, the carton is constructed and shipped in collapsed condition by folding the body portion along score lines 29 and 3). The carton is easily erected by the use of a suitable block which acts to rotate the cross partitions from their collapsed horizontal position into erect position at right angles to the bottom section and walls of the body portion of the carton. By grasping the bottom of the carton along the contiguously positioned walls IS and 2|, the bottom of the carton may be pressed into interlocking engagement ywith the hooks 33 and 35 without difficulty, since the walls I9 and 2| afford a convenient outwardly extending handle.

While my invention has been described with .particular reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that changes and variations from the described structure are posysiblev without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such modiiications are intended to be included inthe appended claim.

I claim: Y

A carton of the type described, comprising front and rear walls, cross partitions hinged to the upper portion of said walls, a bottom portion having inwardly and upwardly inclined outer sections and downwardly and inwardly inclined intermediate sections forming three longitudinal channels, means for supporting said bottom to 4said cross partitions, downwardly extending projections on the central portion of said cross par- .titions engaging the intermediate sections of said bottom portion, and upwardly extending coverrengaging projections opposite said downwardly extending projections. Y

MARTIN BURGER. 

